AFC Telford United is facing a “massive” bill for policing outside its ground during this Saturday’s clash with Fleetwood Town, it emerged today.

For the first time, club bosses will have to fork out a “four-figure-sum” for police around the New Bucks Head before and after the Blue Square North fixture.

Home and away fans at the game will be fully segregated and a massive safety operation is planned. It follows flare-ups at a league meeting between the two sides in Telford in March 2007.

Club officials today said it would be like any other game and urged fans to attend as normal.

In a statement it said: “The club will undertake its biggest ever safety operation and will, for the first ever time, be required to pay police costs for this match after a number of incidents involving away supporters during the last encounter between the two sides in March 2007.”

Club chairman Lee Carter, today refused to be drawn on the exact cost, but confirmed the bill would swallow up about 40 per cent of income for the game.

“It’s going to obliterate our income from the game and if we had to pay these costs week after week it would be putting a massive strain on our budget,” he said. “There will be a visible police presence outside the ground but not inside.”

Chris Ammonds, for Telford police, said: “We are looking into the extent of the policing we need to provide and will try to keep the club’s costs to a minimum.”